Oatmeal Diaries
by shalice
Summary: Incredibly boring and cliche story about Otacon asking Snake to join Philanthropy. Friendship fic, not too shippy, and probably already been written. Babby's first longfic. I'm sorry in advance.


"Well, that ought to do it." The mercenary-turned-musher growled as he finished repairing and attaching the storm window to the outbuilding he used to house his dogs. The Alaskan winter had been strangely mild so far, but a snowstorm was supposed to hit sometime in the next few hours and he'd been meaning to replace the shutter for a week. He ushered his sled team into their kennel with a few sharp commands. As the last of the animals trotted inside, he bent down to scratch behind the ears of his lead male. "I'd like to see that glass break now." The gray-and-white malamute cocked his head to one side and whined softly at the unusually affectionate treatment from his master.

Snake finished locking up the dogs for the night after making sure they had ample food and water. He made his way back to his main house, a tiny, almost ramshackle thing, but it kept him warm enough. The absolute solitude was calming as he walked across the frozen landscape, admiring the crunching sound his heavy boots made in the snow. He paused beneath the wide sky, painted with streaks of pinks and reds and blues as the setting sun's rays caught in the atmosphere. A white puff of breath quickly faded as it escaped his lips. He hunched his shoulders and resumed his walk, chiding himself for the hint of romanticism in his thoughts.

He entered his cabin-home and threw a fresh log on the dying fire in the living room, puffing on the embers to feed them into flames. After hanging up his coat by the door, Snake walked into his bedroom and tossed his hat and gloves onto the radiator to dry. He changed into comfortable clothes and went back to the living room to relax for a while before sleep. He dropped onto the couch rather ungracefully and picked up the novel he was reading after pouring himself a drink. Nearly an hour had passed as the quietly crackling fire and gusting wind lulled the man into a peaceful sleep.

A loud CRACK from behind snapped Snake out of his slumber and sent him instinctually into survival mode. He grabbed the handgun which was never too far away and pressed himself against the wall, straining his ears to hear above the rising wind. The fire had all but died, the last embers glowed cool and red on the wood, emitting a faint, dull snap ever so often. He stealthily crept along the wall toward the kitchen adjacent to the living room, readying his pistol as he moved. He let out the breath he had been holding as he saw the culprit of the noise. One of the storm shutters on the kitchen window had snapped almost in two. He clicked the safety on his gun back into place and rubbed the back of his neck idly as he thought about how to fix the shutter. He would just have to wait until morning… hopefully the wind and snow will have died down by then. In any case it was no job for tonight.

He wandered into his bedroom and placed the gun on the bedside table. It was likely unnecessary in his newfound peace but he couldn't seem to shake the habit. He settled down into bed and pulled the heavy blanket up to his ears to drown out the noise of the storm. A few sharp raps came from the direction of the living room. 'What now? Has another one come loose? I'll worry about it in the morning….' He thought as he yawned wide. Three more knocks. They almost sounded… purposeful. He sat up in bed, tiredly wishing he could just ignore them. Three more. There couldn't be someone at the door, right? Not in this weather…. Still, he had better check to make sure or he'd never get to sleep.

Hoisting himself out of bed, Snake tiptoed to the front door, gun in hand once again. He hooked the chain into the door's lock and unlatched the deadbolt. Opening the door cautiously was difficult with the fierce wind, but he managed to open it slowly without smacking himself in the face. The person on the other side was just as good a surprise though.

"Snake, thank goodness! I was beginning to think you'd never answer!"

"Otacon?" The slighter man shivered in the blustering snow but grinned at the man's remembrance of his nickname. "How – what are you doing here? How did you—"

The engineer struggled to right his glasses on his wind-chapped face. "Mind if I come in first? It's freezing out here."

"Oh! Uh, sure. Yeah come on in." Snake closed the door, undid the chain, and opened it wide enough for his friend to enter. He stole a glance outside before shutting it, just to make sure no one had been tailing the hacker. Said hacker stood in the entryway rubbing his hands together and breathing on them, though the friction didn't seem to be helping to warm his frozen digits. Snake gave him a look of disbelief as he crossed the room toward the fireplace to stoke it back up. The man had walked through an Alaskan snowstorm, somehow found his private cabin, and was now looking around as if all this were just an everyday occurrence. And the idiot hadn't even thought to wear gloves!

"You can put your coat up next to mine. Come over here, before you catch frostbite." Snake growled. "You're really stupid for coming over here in this weather, and not even dressed for it." Otacon's eyes widened in surprise but he did what the other man asked, sitting near the fire and warming his hands.

"Ahaha, I suppose you're right. Sorry to drop in on you like this, but I felt it was urgent." He raised his hands to his face and removed his glasses, gently using his shirt to wipe the fog from their lenses.

"I don't know what could be so urgent that you had to contact me in person in the middle of a damn snowstorm. And how did you find this place anyway? It shouldn't be easy."

"Oh, it isn't as difficult as you might think, actually. And I've still had contact with Mei Ling…"

"Don't you get cocky with me. And I know contact with her can't be for any reason I'm going to enjoy hearing. I'm not in Foxhound anymore, remember? Whatever it is, it's got nothing to do with me."

"Well, you see… I was thinking about asking for your he—"

"Stop, Otacon. I'm tired." Snake rubbed the bridge of his nose with his finger and thumb. So much for his solitude. "Whatever it is, it can wait until after I've slept."

"R-Right! Sorry, I didn't mean to bring it up when you're obviously too tired..." The ex-soldier walked to his closet and returned with an extra blanket and a change of clothes which he threw at the engineer's feet.

"Change into that. You can take the couch. Bathroom's over there. Put out the fire before you sleep." Otacon smiled sheepishly and nodded. Satisfied, Snake went back into his room and shut the door. He sat down heavily on his bed and sighed, running his hands through his hair. Well, this was certainly unexpected. He had a feeling it was going to be a long night.

The sun was already peeking over the horizon as Snake woke, streaming in around the edges of the storm shutter. He must have been more tired than usual. He rolled out of bed and began to make his way over to the kitchen to put on a pot of coffee, hard floor cold on his bare feet. A gently snoring figure on his usually-unoccupied couch stopped him in his tracks.

Oh. Right. That had happened.

Sighing, he put on double the amount of coffee he usually made; pretty sure they'd both need quite a bit of caffeine. He crossed the hallway into the living room and peered over the back of the couch at the sleeping figure. The engineer's face was relaxed and fuller than it had been at Shadow Moses, though Snake detected additional lines, no doubt from worry. He looked very different without his glasses, the mercenary noted absentmindedly. He padded to the bathroom to shower and freshen up as the coffee percolated. Leaning into the mirror, he ran his fingers across his chin where a light dusting of hair had begun to form. He'd have to shave soon. Well, maybe he'd let it grow just a bit more.

When Snake emerged from the shower toweling off his hair, Otacon was just waking up and stretched languidly on the couch. Shaking his head at this state of relaxation, he poured the steaming coffee into two large mugs and handed one to the computer geek. A mumbled thank you was greeted by a tired grunt from the larger man. He took his own and leaned against the wall near the window, looking outside to see how much snow they had gotten overnight. It was a bright morning at the moment but Snake was wary of storm clouds in the distance. It would probably snow more later. He looked over to the couch where his guest was sitting cross-legged, mug clutched close to his face as he slowly sipped it and stared at the empty fireplace. Snake sighed. He'd have to start the conversation sooner or later.

"So." The sudden word seemed to shock Otacon out of his reverie and he turned to look at Snake expectantly. The two men held each other's gaze for a brief moment before the engineer flushed and quickly turned back around.

"You're probably wondering why I came all the way out here…" He slid his glasses back up his nose from where they had fallen, his middle finger lingering on the bridge as he spoke. Snake grunted agreement. "Er, I'll tell you all about it, but… do you mind if I shower and stuff first?" He snuck a glance in the mercenary's (_ex-mercenary's_ he reminded himself) direction, to be greeted by a cold glare. Yelping, he hurriedly added "It's not like I'm trying to put it off or anything! I just... would rather be comfortable, that's all."

"Mm. Fine. The bathroom's over there. Take as long as you need." Otacon mumbled thanks and downed the rest of the coffee before shuffling off to the bathroom. A few minutes later the sound of water came from the end of the hall as Snake finished off his own coffee. He folded the blanket and put it on the edge of the sofa before taking their coffee cups to the sink. He sat down on the couch to think things over. Would he really leave if that's what Otacon wanted him to do?

Otacon sighed and turned the faucet on, feeling the temperature of the water as it warmed. He undressed and set his glasses carefully on the sink, stepping into the shower and shutting the curtain. The lukewarm water pounded on his back and he tilted his head back to wet his hair, running his fingers through it as streams of water ran down his neck. How was he going to ask Snake? The trip was a bit of an impulse after he found Snake's address… He had to admit; maybe he hadn't thought this through far enough. The previous night's confidence had seemed to leave since waking. But he was here now, so there wasn't much he could do about it except follow through. _Come on, Hal, do something right for once!_ He admonished himself vaguely for wanting to quit. The water suddenly turned ice-cold and he yelped loudly and flailed out of the shower. He heard Snake chuckle in the next room.

"Snake! The water is freezing!"

"Of course it is. I live in the middle of Alaska, Otacon. Do you expect me to have unlimited hot water?" Otacon grumbled and finished washing as quickly as humanly possible in the icy water. He stepped out of the bathroom after drying off and saw Snake sitting on the couch nursing a small glass of bourbon.

"Isn't it a bit early for that?"

"Isn't it none of your business?" Snake replied with a hint of venom.

"Ah, sorry. Forget I said anything."

"So are you going to tell me why you came all the way out to Alaska, or are you just going to stand there like an idiot?" Snake set the glass on the table with a dull thunk. Otacon cleared his throat nervously and sat down.

"Well, it's like this, Snake. You destroyed Rex back at Shadow Moses, that much is true. But it seems some of the data may not have been … properly disposed of. I mean, we were in a hurry and – and there's no real way to make certain all of it was erased. And, well, even though I did what I could at the time, I guess it wasn't enough. If someone had copied my files and exported them then there really isn't anything—"

"What are you saying, Otacon?" Snake growled. "Get to the point already."

"Ah, you see, it seems Rex's schematics… along with some test data… were leaked." He pushed his glasses up and looked at the floor, not trusting his hands to be steady. The lengthy pause didn't help his already-strained nerves.

"You can't be serious." Snake ran one hand over his face tiredly. "You mean, someone out there has everything they need to build another metal gear?"

"Potentially… yes."

"And what exactly do you plan on doing about it?" The mercenary was beginning to let his temper get the best of him. He could already feel himself boiling with anger at what the other man was implying. Full of resentment at his vision of a peaceful, solitary retirement being washed away, he snapped at the engineer. "You're going to have a hell of a time trying to rid the world of metal gears when all you can do is type on a computer and piss yourself in terror." Otacon visibly winced at the insult.

"That's… where you come in, Snake." His voice was much softer now. Even when Snake had roughed him up in Shadow Moses, he had taken it in stride. Snake would almost admire that trait, if the man hadn't come here to uproot his one happiness. "I was hoping you would join me. Like you said, I can't really do this on my own. I can manage code and tech and logistics, but I'm useless at the real work."

"So you want me to do the dirty work for you." Otacon nodded, still looking away. "Why me?" That question clearly caught the hacker off-guard, and he turned to glance at Snake's face for a moment.

"What do you mean?"

"There are plenty of other people who are just as capable. It might not seem great to you, but I like my life here."

"Snake, you have the most experience with this. You've destroyed three metal gears. You're _the_ Solid Snake! No one else would be good enough." A hint of a smile played at Otacon's lips as he praised the man who had saved his life during that mission. But it quickly faded when he saw Snake's expression fall.

"I don't know what you think I am, Otacon, but I'm no hero." He picked up his glass and downed the rest of the alcohol in one swift movement.

"But –"

"_Listen_, Otacon. I'm not a hero, and I never have been. It's time you wake up and realize that I'm just a person. Stop your goddamn hero-worshipping for one minute and maybe you'd notice that I'm perfectly happy here." He slammed the glass back onto the table. Otacon flinched but finally seemed to have had enough.

"Yeah, it's a wonderful life you have here, getting drunk by yourself every day." Otacon tried his best to look defiant and keep his raised voice from wavering. "If this is how you acted when Meryl was here, I can see why she left!"

"What did you just say?" Snake's voice was deadly cold.

"I-I said that it's no wonder Meryl left, if this is how you acted around her. _You_ might be fine sitting here drunk day after day, but I have something to do with my life now. I created this problem; it's my duty to take care of it. Here I thought maybe you could sympathize, or at least be willing to help. But I guess I judged you wrong, Snake."

"Don't you get preachy on me, Otacon." Snake stood up furiously, all but yelling now. "It's none of your goddamn business why she left. It _is_ your problem; it's _your_ fault, so why don't you take care of it by _yourself_? I don't care what you do. Just _leave me out of it_!"

Otacon looked toward the floor, his glasses catching the light and obscuring his eyes. His voice was once again subdued. "That's fine, Snake. I'm sorry to have bothered you." He got up slowly, put on his shoes and coat and stepped out into the snowy landscape, shutting the door carefully behind him. Inside, Snake sat down heavily and downed another glass, thoughts clouded by anger and alcohol.

Sprawled on the couch, Snake woke with a dry mouth and a headache pounding at his temples. He opened his eyes and looked over at the table where a nearly-empty bottle of bourbon lay next to an overturned glass. Groaning, he rubbed his forehead. He closed his eyes for a few more minutes, then grudgingly made his way over to the sink for a glass of water.

He had yelled at Otacon and let his temper get the best of him. He peered out of the kitchen window's broken storm shutter. It was already dark; he must have been sleeping for the whole day. The wind was picking up again too. "Looks like it's going to get bad." He muttered to himself. He ruffled his hair with his hand and screwed up his face in frustration. "AUGHHH I _really_ don't want to do this…" Quickly so as not to lose his motivation, Snake threw on some warm clothes, boots, and his winter jacket and started out the door into the cold evening air.

The wind hit his face in an icy gust and he immediately regretted emptying that bottle earlier. _I'd better just find him and get it over with_, he thought with distaste. His boots crunched through the snow as he scanned the area for signs of the engineer. Had there been less snow, the path of footprints leading toward town would have been all but eroded. Thankfully, Snake was able to locate them and follow the meandering steps with fresh shoeprints of his own. He walked for nearly an hour as the wind blustered more and more violently, adding flecks of snow to the already-trying mix. The engineer had obviously gotten lost when the path was no longer visible, as his prints were no longer heading toward any destination. Snake grumbled under his breath about idiot nerds with no sense of direction who can't even bother to wear gloves in Alaska. It was at that point he vaguely noticed the footprints had ended and tripped over a rather solid snowdrift.

"Ngh…" Otacon blinked himself awake and rubbed his eyes drowsily. His blurred vision could make out that he was in a bed but not much else. He instinctively reached and felt around for his glasses, and found them on a bedside table. He put them on and sat up to look around, or tried to at least – his muscles ached painfully. Besides that, a sharp pain shot up his right leg when he tried to move it. The effort wore him out and he lay down on his back, his groggy mind trying to determine where exactly he was. That question was answered when a familiar muscular figure opened the door and peered in at him.

"Oh, you're awake." Snake opened the door fully and stepped in. "Is it okay if I turn on the light?"

"Mm. Sure." Snake did so and walked over to place a hand on Otacon's forehead. "What happened?" Snake removed his hand, satisfied, and sat down on the edge of the bed. "I remember walking and it was really cold and then… I think I tripped?"

"Sounds about right. You have a sprained ankle. You're lucky it isn't broken." Snake looked at him, hard expression softening slightly. "I found you in a snowdrift, nearly hypothermic. You're also lucky I was able to carry you back here before the storm really hit."

"Ah. Sorry."

"It's fine." The two sat in a tense silence for what seemed an agonizingly long time. Snake cleared his throat awkwardly, obviously not used to playing nurse. "I'm going to make you something warm to drink, just stay here and don't try to get up. You don't want to make that ankle any worse." He got up and hastily made his way out as Otacon nodded in compliance.

The hacker took the moment of privacy as an opportunity to carefully hoist himself into a sitting position and look around Snake's room. The furniture was sparse, and decorations were basically nonexistent. A single functional lamp stood next to (he was a bit startled to see) a pistol on the bedside table. Other than that, only a chest of drawers and radiator covered in drying gloves occupied the room. It was a bit bleak for his taste (he preferred brightly-colored anime posters to cheer up his walls), but given Snake's military background it wasn't too surprising.

Said ex-soldier reappeared carrying two steaming mugs and handed Otacon one.

"It's hot chocolate, not coffee. Caffeine wouldn't be good for you right now." He looked over from sipping at his mug in surprise as he heard the other man chuckle softly. "What?"

"Nothing, nothing. I just have a hard time picturing the infamous Solid Snake keeping a stockpile of hot chocolate." Otacon chuckled into his mug and took a grateful swallow. Snake glared at him in mock annoyance.

"What's wrong with hot chocolate? And anyway it wasn't me who bought it."

"Oh. I didn't mean…"

"Don't worry about it." Snake looked thoughtfully at the cup nestled in both his hands. Another pause as the two men tried unsuccessfully to forget their earlier exchanges. A discreet growl from the engineer's stomach broke the silence. "You must be hungry. I don't have much and I can't really cook, but I'll make something."

"Anything's fine! I'm really sorry for the trouble… And Snake?"

"Yeah?"

"…Thanks."

"I told you, it's not a big deal," he said, not meeting the other's gaze. He walked back to the kitchen, wondering what he could cook.

The next two days passed uneventfully in a strained quiet. All was peaceful around the cold Alaskan landscape, but tension was still present inside the small home as both men sidestepped around the issue at hand whenever possible. Otacon was slowly gaining the use of his leg back and could help Snake with a few of the daily tasks of solitary living in a harsh environment. He was most surprised to find that the ex-soldier was also a musher.

_"Otacon, help me feed the dogs."_

_"Snake, you have dogs?!"_

_"…I've told you I race dogsleds before, haven't I? I'm a musher."_

_"First I've heard of it. I never would have thought! Huskies are so fluffy and cute. I never pegged you for a dog person, Snake."_

_"Well first of all, they're working dogs. Not. Pets. And secondly, they might be fluffy but they would bite your leg off on command."_

_"A-Ah, well, maybe you should handle feeding them then…."_

_"Nah, you'll be fine." He gave Otacon a light slap on the back, though it didn't make the engineer's face look any less green._

Although Otacon could help with some chores, they were at a loss about cooking. Both typical bachelors, neither could make a decent meal and food was running low as Snake hadn't bothered to drive – or mush – into town for a few days. They sat down to a meal of what appeared to be brown sludge the second night. Otacon gave his bowl a skeptical look and prodded it cautiously with a spoon.

"Um, Snake…."

"'S oatmeal. Just eat it."

"Ah, right." Otacon spooned a heaping bite into his mouth. He let out a choked gurgle and convulsed, though to his credit he managed to swallow it. Snake looked at him with a questioning glance.

"So how is it?"

"….It's really bad Snake, I didn't think it was possible to screw up oatmeal!" Snake took a wary bite and instantly spat it out.

"Ugh that is awful…" A muffled snicker came from across the table. Snake looked up, about to grumpily comment that the hacker couldn't do any better, when he saw the man was barely able to contain his laughter. Snake chuckled. "It really is bad, isn't it?"

"It's the worst thing I've ever eaten!" Otacon let out a snort and giggled harder. Snake found himself laughing wholeheartedly in response. The tension between them melted away as their laughter filled the tiny kitchen nook.

"Snake, you really suck at cooking!" Otacon wheezed in between fits of laughter.

"I know, I know!" Snake replied breathlessly. The two of them calmed down after a few minutes and the small home was once again quiet. This time, however, the awkward tense silence was replaced by a relaxed calm. Otacon wiped his watering eyes underneath his square-frame glasses. Snake mentally steeled himself and decided to get what was bothering him off his chest. _Here goes nothing…_

"Otacon."

"Yeah Snake?"

"About the other day, when I had been drinking…"

"Ah." Otacon fidgeted uncomfortably and was about to say something before Snake stopped him with a raised hand.

"I'm… I'm sorry. I was upset and said some things I shouldn't have." The engineer

"It's okay Snake, I mean, I'm asking you to do something that you obviously don't want. I didn't mean to make you angry. I also said some pretty horrible things. Sorry about that." Snake grunted.

"It's nothing. I should have considered it more before railing on you like that." The two busied themselves by staring at various points of interest in the kitchen rather than each other. The mercenary turned his gaze toward the man across the table. "So. Does the offer still stand?"

"You-you mean—" Otacon sputtered, eyes wide in surprise behind wire frames.

"Yeah, I'd like to help you in your anti-metal gear philanthropy project." Snake inwardly smiled at how easy the other man was to read. His happiness was blatantly apparent though he was obviously trying to hide it. Otacon looked down at the table in front of him thoughtfully.

"Philanthropy… that's a good name. I'm so glad you're willing to work with me, it's something that only we can do, you know! But, what made you change your mind?"

"Nothing in particular," Snake answered truthfully. "I just thought about it and it seemed like the right thing to do."

"Well, thanks Snake!" Otacon grinned at him.

"On one condition." The grin faded.

"What's that?" Otacon gulped, nervous.

"When we aren't in the middle of a mission, call me Dave, not Snake. I'm a person, not just a codename." The engineer's eyes widened and a heartfelt smile softened his features.

"Sure Sn—uh, Dave. Call me Hal." He pushed up his glasses confidently and Dave smiled back at him.

"Of course. Just make sure you open the pod-bay doors when I ask." The two of them shared another laugh as they began to consider alternative dinner options for the evening.


End file.
